Toolholder connector and associated system

ABSTRACT

A toolholder connector having one threaded end and one end with a male quick change portion is threadingly engaged with a first toolholder having a threaded bore. The quick change connector also has a male quick change portion that is engaged within a side activated receiver of a second toolholder. Prior to activating the receiver, an alignment pin associated with the first toolholder is lined up with alignment slot associated with the second toolholder such that when the two are brought together, a pre-determined radial alignment will be retained.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention is directed to tooling for machining operations and, moreparticularly, directed to a connector for securing a toolholder to atoolholder support member.

2. Description of Related Art

FIGS. 1-3 illustrate prior art designs, whereby a first toolholder 10 issecured within a second toolholder 15 utilizing a differential connector20. The second toolholder 15, which is a tapered adapter, is mountedwithin a machine tool (not shown). The first toolholder 10 includes acutting insert 25 typically used for boring operations. For boringoperations or any operation wherein the cutting insert 25 must belocated with precision, the mating of the first toolholder 10 and secondtoolholder 15 becomes critical and this is especially true with respectto the rotational orientation of the first toolholder 10 relative to thesecond toolholder 15. To ensure a precise radially relationship betweenthe first toolholder 10 and the second toolholder 15, an alignment pin30 protruding from the face 37 of the first toolholder 10 must mate withan alignment slot 35 in the face 39 of the second toolholder 15. Threads40 on the differential connector 20 engage matching threads 41 withinthe second toolholder 15, while threads 45 engage matching threads 47within the bore 48 of the first toolholder 10. The threads 40 and thethreads 45, along with their respective matching threads 41, 47, havedifferent pitches so that rotation of the differential connector 20draws the first toolholder 10 into or away from the second toolholder15. Once the threads are engaged, then by rotating the differentialconnector 20, the first toolholder 10 is drawn into the secondtoolholder 15. However, in order to engage the alignment pin 30 withinthe alignment slot 35, it is necessary to advance the differentialconnector 20 when the first toolholder 10 is very close to the secondtoolholder 15 and when the alignment pin 30 is lined up with thealignment slot. It is furthermore necessary to access the differentialconnector 20 through the bore 50 extending though the toolholder 15 toaccess a hex 52 within the first end 22 of the differential connector20.

However, with this arrangement, when the first toolholder 10 must beremoved from the second toolholder 15, access is required through thebore 50 to rotate the differential connector 20 to separate the firsttoolholder 10 from the second toolholder 15. The current design requiresa particular wrench that is introduced from the back of the secondtoolholder 15 through the bore 50 to engage the differential connector20 and to release the first toolholder 10.

A design is desired to not only eliminate the need to access adifferential connector 20 through a bore 50 extending through the secondtoolholder, but furthermore, an arrangement is desired to make easierthe positioning of the alignment pin 30 relative to the alignment slot35 prior to mating the first toolholder 10 to the second toolholder 15.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A first embodiment of the subject invention is directed to a connectorfor attaching a first toolholder with a threaded bore to a secondtoolholder with a side activated receiver comprised of a body having afirst end and a second end, a male threaded portion extending axiallyalong a longitudinal axis to the first end adapted to be mated with thefirst toolholder, and a male quick-change portion adapted to be matedwith the second toolholder. The male portion has a shank that extendsaxially to the second end, wherein the shank has a lockable segmentdefined by an opening proximate to the second end extending radiallytherethrough. The opening has a lockable portion with at least oneangled forwardly facing surface which may be engaged to secure thequick-change portion rearwardly within the second toolholder.

A second embodiment of the subject invention is directed to a system forcoupling a first toolholder having a threaded bore to a secondtoolholder having a side activated receiver. The system has a connectorhaving a body with a first end, a second end, and a shank therebetween.The connector has a male threaded portion extending axially along alongitudinal axis to the first end, and a male quick-change portionextending axially to the second end. The shank has a lockable segmentdefined by an opening proximate to the second end extending radiallytherethrough, wherein the opening has a lockable portion with at leastone angled forwardly facing surface. The first toolholder has a threadedfirst receiving bore, wherein the threaded receiving bore is mateablewith the male threaded portion of the connector. The second toolholderhas a second receiving bore accepting the male quick-change portion andfurther including a side activated receiver having a rotatable actuatingbolt positioned within the second toolholder along a radial axis (R1)relative to the longitudinal axis. The bolt also has a bolt lockingsegment defined by at least one angled rearwardly facing surface whichtranslates along the radial axis and contacts the lockable surface ofthe connector to secure the connector within the second toolholder.

A third embodiment of the subject invention is directed to a sideactivated extension coupling for connecting a first toolholder having abody extending along a longitudinal axis and having a first end and asecond end, and a male quick change portion having a shank that extendslongitudinally from the first end. The shank has a lockable segmentdefined by an opening proximate to the second end extending radiallytherethrough, wherein the opening has a lockable segment with at leastone angled forwardly facing surface. The second toolholder has areceiving bore accepting a male quick change portion extendinglongitudinally into the second end and further including a sideactivated receiver comprised of a rotatable actuating bolt positionedwithin the second toolholder along a radial axis (R1) relative to otherlongitudinal axis. The second toolholder has a first end with a boltlocking segment defined by at least one angled rearwardly facing surfacewhich translates along the radial axis and contacts the lockable surfaceof the connector to secure the connector within the toolholder.

A fourth embodiment of the subject invention is directed to a method forattaching a first toolholder having a threaded first receiving bore,wherein the threaded receiving bore is mateable with the male threadedportion of the connector. A second toolholder has a second receivingbore accepting a male quick-change portion and further including a sideactivated receiver is comprised of a rotatable actuating bolt positionedwithin the second toolholder along a radial axis (R1) relative to otherlongitudinal axis. The bolt has a first end with a bolt locking segmentdefined by at least one angled rearwardly facing surface whichtranslates along the radial axis and contacts the lockable surface ofthe connector to secure the connector within the toolholder. The methodis comprised of the steps of, with a connector having one end with amale threaded portion and another end with a male quick change portion,screwing the male threaded portion partially into the threaded receivingbore of the first toolholder, inserting the male quick-change portion ofthe connector into the side activated receiver of the second toolholder,rotating a first toolholder relative to the second toolholder to arelative predetermined radial alignment, and activating the quick changelocking mechanism to secure the first toolholder to the secondtoolholder in the predetermined radial alignment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is prior art and is a exploded view showing the manner by which adifferential connector connects a first toolholder with a second holder;

FIG. 2 is prior art and is a cross-sectional view of the arrangementillustrated in FIG. 1 with a differential connector engaging both thefirst toolholder and second toolholder;

FIG. 3 is prior art and is a cross-sectional view of the arrangementillustrated in FIG. 1 with the first toolholder fully engaged within thesecond toolholder and secured therein by the differential connector;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the toolholder connector andassociated system in accordance with the subject invention;

FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 is a perspective view, cross-sectional view, and topview of the toolholder connector in accordance with the subjectinvention;

FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view of the arrangement illustratedin FIG. 4, whereby the first toolholder and second toolholder are nearlymated and the quick change connector is partially engaged.

FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view similar to that illustrated inFIG. 8, however, now with the first toolholder and second toolholderfully engaged by the quick change connector; and

FIG. 10 is an exploded view illustrating the flexibility of the subjectinvention, showing multiple toolholders connected using the toolholderconnector.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Directing attention to FIGS. 4 and 8, a quick change connector 120 isused to attach a first toolholder 10 to a second toolholder 115. Thefirst toolholder 10 has a bore 12 with associated threads 14, while thesecond toolholder 115 has a side activated receiver.

Directing attention to FIGS. 5-7, the quick change connector 120 is madeup of a body 130 having a first end 132 and a second end 134. A malethreaded portion 46, having threads 45 similar to the differentialconnector 20 (FIG. 1) extends axially along a longitudinal axis 138 tothe first end 132 and is adapted to be mated with mating threads 47 ofthe first toolholder 10 (FIG. 8).

A male quick change portion 140 is adapted to be mated with the secondtoolholder 115 (FIG. 8), wherein the male portion 140 has a shank 142that extends axially to the second end 134. The shank 142 has a lockablesegment 144 defined by an opening 146 proximate to the second end 134and extending radially therethrough. The opening 146 has a lockableportion 148 with at least one angled forwardly facing surface 150 whichmay be engaged to secure the quick change portion 140 rearwardly withinthe second toolholder 115.

In one embodiment, the shank 142 of the male quick change portion 140 isround and the lockable segment 144 has a pair of lockable surfaces 148at circumferentially spaced locations, as illustrated in FIG. 7.Additionally, the male quick change portion 140 may further include atleast one releasable segment 152 defined by at least one angledrearwardly facing surface 154 which may be engaged to eject the quickchange portion 140 and thereby, the entire first toolholder 10 from thesecond toolholder 115.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the shank 142 of the male quick change portion140 is not only round, but may be frusto-conical in shape. Additionally,the angled forwardly facing surface 150 (FIG. 7) of the opening 146 maybe conical.

Directing attention to FIGS. 4, 8, and 9, details by which the quickchange connector 120 secures the first toolholder 10 to the secondtoolholder 115 will be discussed.

The first toolholder 10 has a receiving bore 12 with threads 14, whereinthe threads 14 are mateable with threads 47 of the male threaded portion45 of the quick change connector 120.

The second toolholder 115 has a receiving bore 156 accepting the malequick change portion 140 and further includes a side activated receiver125 comprised of a rotatable actuating bolt 158 positioned within thesecond toolholder 115 along a radial axis R1 relative to thelongitudinal axis 138. The actuating bolt 158 has a first end 160 andspaced from the first end 160 is a bolt locking segment 162 defined byat least one angled rearwardly facing surface 164. The bolt 158translates along the radial axis R1 and contacts the lockable surface148 of the quick change connector 120 to secure the quick changeconnector 120 within the second toolholder 115.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, the first toolholder 10 has a peripheralmating face 166, wherein the second toolholder 115 also has a peripheralmating face 168, such that when the quick change connector 120 draws thefirst toolholder 110 against the second toolholder 115, the peripheralmating faces 166, 168 abut with one another. Additionally, the firsttoolholder may include a conical male portion 170 sized to fit within aconical receiving portion 175 of the second toolholder 115, and therelationship of these two elements may be such that a resilientinterference fit is provided between the conical male portion 170 andthe conical receiving portion 175.

One of the problems discussed, with respect to prior art designillustrated in FIGS. 1-3, was aligning the alignment pin 30 within thealignment slot 180 as a differential connector was tightened. The sideactivated receiver 125 in connection with the quick change connector 120of the subject invention provides rotational adjustment and longitudinaladjustment, such that the alignment pin 30 of the first toolholder 10may be easily aligned with an alignment slot 180 of the peripheralmating face 168 of the second toolholder 115. It should be appreciatedthat, while an alignment pin 30 and alignment slot 180 are illustrated,other longitudinal protrusions then the alignment pin 30 and otherlongitudinal indentations than the alignment slot 180 may suffice toprovide proper radial alignment between the first toolholder 10 and thesecond toolholder 115. It should also be appreciated that the alignmentpin 30 or longitudinal protrusion may extend from the peripheral matingface 168 of the second toolholder 115, while the longitudinalindentation or alignment slot 180 may be positioned within theperipheral mating face 166 of the first toolholder 10.

As illustrated herein, the first toolholder 10 is a boring bar while thesecond toolholder 115 is a tapered adapter.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, it is entirely possible to introduce anintermediate toolholder, such as the side activated extension coupling200, by using similar side activated receivers 125 and similar quickchange connectors 120 along with mating peripheral faces 166 of thefirst toolholder 10 and 168 of the second toolholder 115 along with aconical male portion 170 of the first toolholder 10 and the conicalreceiving portion 175 of the second toolholder 115. With theintroduction of multiple intermediate pieces, such as the side activatedextension coupling 200, it is possible to align adjacent toolholderswith a high level of precision. Furthermore, because each of thesearrangements is side activated, the need to activate a differentialconnection 20 with access through the toolholder longitudinal bores iseliminated. Therefore, it is no longer necessary to assemble ordisassemble these components in a required sequential fashion.

While details of the side activated receiver have been describedtherein, additional details may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 7,240,594entitled “Toolholder Assembly” herein incorporated in its entirety byreference, is assigned to Kennametal Inc., which is the same Assigneefor the present application.

It should be noted that the male quick change portion 140 of the quickchange connector 120 may be threadingly attached to the extensioncoupling 200 or may, in the alternative, be an integral part of theextension coupling 200.

Directing attention to FIG. 1, the first toolholder 10, as illustrated,is a high precision boring tool which, for the most part, is producedwith a bore 48 having threads 47 designed to mate with the threads 45 inthe differential connector 20. The expense associated with modifying thefirst toolholder 10 to eliminate these mating threads 47, and include anintegral male quick change portion is much greater than merely providingthe quick change connector 20 compatible with the toolholder 10 andproducing a second toolholder 115 or connector coupling 200 withmodifications such as the side activated receiver 125 illustrated inFIG. 10. It is for that reason that the quick change connector 120 is aseparate and discrete part from the first toolholder 10, the sideactivated extension coupling 200, and the second toolholder 115.

Directing attention to FIGS. 8 and 9, in operation, the male quickchange portion 205 is placed within the side activated receiver 125 andthe rotatable actuating bolt 158, which is threadingly engaged with anactuating bolt nut 159, is rotated such that the first end 160 of thebolt 158 is drawn toward the nut 159. By doing so, the angled rearwardlyfacing surfaces 164 of the bolt 158 and the nut 159 are drawn togetherand engage the angled forwardly facing surfaces 150 of the lockablesegment 144 of the male quick change portion 140 (FIG. 7). It should bepointed out that the rotatable actuating bolt 158 and bolt nut 159 mayfloat within the bore 158 extending within the second toolholder 115.

As previously mentioned, it is possible that the connection between thefirst toolholder 10 and the second toolholder 115 may include aresilient interference fit between the conical male portion 170 of thefirst toolholder 10 and the conical receiving portion 175 of the firsttoolholder 10. Under these circumstances, it may be necessary topositively displace the first toolholder from the second toolholder 115.

Directing attention to FIG. 8, the rotatable actuating bolt 158 may berotated in the opposite direction as that required to lock thetoolholder 10 and, as a result, the bolt 158 and the bolt nut 159 moveapart from one another until the nut 159 contacts a shoulder 163 withinthe bore 161. At that time, the nut 159 may no longer move down and theactuating bolt 158 is thereby forced upwardly. The bolt 158 has abump-off surface 215 while the male quick change portion 205 includes atleast one releasable segment 217 defined by at lease one angledrearwardly facing surface 154 which engages the bump-off segment 215 andis displaced to the right. As a result, the first toolholder 10 isforcibly ejected from the second toolholder 115.

A method for attaching a first toolholder 10 to a second toolholder 115involves the steps of rotating the quick change connector 120 such thatthe threads 45 partially engage the threaded receiving bore 47 of thefirst toolholder 10 (FIG. 8). Thereafter, the male quick change portion140 of the quick change connector 120 may be inserted into the sideactivated receiver 125 of the second toolholder 115. The firsttoolholder 10 should be rotated relative to the second toolholder 115 toa relative pre-determined radial alignment where the alignment pin 30 isgenerally aligned with the alignment slot 180. At this point, the bolt158 may be rotated such that the bolt 158 and the nut 159 are drawntogether thereby engaging the lockable surface 148 of the male quickchange portion 140 while still maintaining the pre-determined radialalignment. As illustrated in FIG. 9, the bolt 158 is then rotatedfurther such that the angled rearwardly facing surfaces 164 contact theangled forwardly facing surfaces of the quick change connector 120 anddraw the first toolholder 10 within the second toolholder 115.

Throughout this description, the term toolholder has been used todescribe the two mating components. It should be appreciated that thisterm, as used herein, may describe any variety of attachments used tosecure a cutting tool to a machine tool. While specific embodiments ofthe invention have been described in detail, it will be appreciated bythose skilled in the art that various modifications and alternatives tothose details could be developed in light of the overall teachings ofthe disclosure. The presently preferred embodiments described herein aremeant to be illustrative only and not limiting as to the scope of theinvention which is to be given the full breadth of the appended claimsand any and all equivalents thereof.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for attaching a first toolholderhaving a threaded first receiving bore, wherein the threaded receivingbore is mateable with a male threaded portion at one end of a separateconnector, with a second toolholder having a second receiving bore alonga longitudinal axis for receiving a male quick-change portion located atthe other end of the connector and wherein the first toolholder furtherincludes a side activated receiver comprised of a rotatable actuatingbolt positioned within the second toolholder along a radial axis (R1)relative to the longitudinal axis and having a first end with a boltlocking segment which translates along the radial axis and contacts alockable surface of the connector adapted to secure the connector withinthe second toolholder, wherein the method is comprised of the steps of:a) screwing the male threaded portion of the connector partially intothe threaded receiving bore of the first toolholder; b) inserting themale quick-change portion of the connector into the bore with the sideactivated receiver of the second toolholder; c) rotating the firsttoolholder relative to the second toolholder to a relative predeterminedradial alignment; and d) activating the quick change locking mechanismto secure first toolholder to the second toolholder in the predeterminedradial alignment with the connector therebetween.
 2. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the male quick-change portion of theconnector is comprised of a round shank and the bolt locking segment hasa pair of lockable surfaces at circumferentially spaced locations. 3.The method according to claim 2, wherein the male quick change portionfurther includes at least one releasable segment defined by at least oneangled rearwardly facing surface which may be engaged to eject thequick-change portion from the toolholder.
 4. The method according toclaim 3, where the male quick-change portion has a frusto-conical shape.5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the lockable surfaces of thelocking segment have forwardly facing surfaces which are conical.
 6. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the bolt locking segment is definedby at least one angled rearwardly facing surface which contacts thelockable surface of the connector.